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Fire Administrative Support Assistant

Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS)

Summary

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans' Preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at Direct Hire Authority

This Administrative Support Assistant position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GS-0303-4/5 working in the following location(s):

  • Fairbanks, Alaska

For contact information, housing availability, and additional details regarding temporary fire positions with DOI, visit the DOI FIRES website.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/16/2026 to 04/22/2026
Salary
$19.73 - $22.07 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4 - 5
Location
FEW vacancies in the following location:
Fairbanks, AK
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - These are temporary appointments. These positions will not convey permanent status and will be for a period not-to-exceed 1039 hours in a service year. Hours may be extended up to 1560 hours dependent on the agency's authority.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
WFS-FIRE-2026-015-DHA
Control number
865500000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position. Veterans' Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position.

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Duties

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As an Administrative Support Assistant (GS-4), your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

  • Assists the timekeeper who enters fire time reports following fire timekeeping regulations.
  • Performs simple clerical duties and assist with travel.
  • Coordinates dispatched equipment or supplies in accordance with established procedures.
  • Performs repetitive and simple clerical duties such as ensuring all pertinent data is provided by the caller, checks information for completeness, and resolves any discrepancies.
As an Administrative Support Assistant (GS-5), your duties will include but are not limited to the following:
  • Prepares and audits fire time reports following fire timekeeping regulations.
  • Answers inquiries from supervisors and employees regarding timekeeping regulations.
  • Completes daily, weekly, monthly, and year-end required records, reports and summaries using established procedures.
  • Processes and tracks travel for the fire organization.
Cost of Living Allowance: In addition to the base salary, this position is entitled to a 1.49% cost-of-living allowance for Fairbanks, AK as determined by https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/nonforeign-areas/#url=COLA-Rates .This allowance is subject to annual review, adjustment, and rate decrease.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • This position may require the incumbent to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their official duties. Selectee may need to hold and maintain a valid state driver's license throughout their employment in this position.
  • Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • Subject to occasional travel particularly during fire season, and you may need to obtain a government charge card for travel.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

Only experience and education obtained by 04/22/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Minimum Qualifications:

To qualify for a GS-4, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). One (1) year of general work experience, which can be any work experience.
-OR-
2). Two (2) years of education above the high school level (60 semester or 90 quarter hours in an accredited business, secretarial, technical school, junior college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 72 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school).
-OR-
3). A combination of the education and experience described above.

To qualify for a GS-5, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). One (1) year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-4 level duties.
Examples of specialized work experience include:
Using automated systems and processes, resolving timekeeping issues, performing basic clerical duties, and/or creating and maintaining records.
-OR-
2). A successful completion of a 4 year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree in any field.
-OR-
3). A combination of the education and experience as described above.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Physical Demands: The work is typically sedentary. Some work may require periods of walking, standing, bending, or driving a motor vehicle. The incumbent may frequently lift relatively light boxes, Materials, and supplies and/or carry file folders, copied materials, books and other similar materials.

Work Environment: Work is typically located in an adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated office environment. The work environment may involve everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, amil distribution centers, meeting and training rooms, libraries, or motor vehicles.

Education

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Additional information

Pay rates vary depending on location. For additional information on pay rates: Click here for the OPM Salaries and Wages to calculate locality pay.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on an RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

Telework: This position is not suitable for telework.

Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Wildland Fire Service offices in the local commuting area.

Reasonable Accommodation: The USWFS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Please visit USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process.

Temporary employees hired in wildland fire or wildland fire support positions are eligible for the following:

  • Annual, sick leave, and paid federal holidays
  • Depending on tour of duty - Sunday, holiday, shift differential and/or hazard pay
  • Participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) program - Employees electing to participate in the FEHB will be responsible for the employee share of the premium while on the official agency roles, which is deducted from bi-weekly earnings. After separating from federal employment, employees will be offered to continue participation in FEHB under the Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) option. Employees electing to continue coverage under the TCC provision will be responsible for the full premium amount plus a 2% administration fee.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the minimum qualification requirements of this position. Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine if you are minimally qualified for the position. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. Due to this vacancy being filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans' Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All minimally qualified candidates will be referred for consideration. Please note that the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion. Interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis.

The competencies below provide an overview of what this position entails once encumbered:

  • Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) - Works and communicates with clients and customers (e.g., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit provides, including individuals who work in your agency or in other agencies or organizations outside the Government) to satisfy their expectations. Committed to quality services
  • Technical Competence - Knowledge of how to perform one's job. Refers to specialized knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience.
  • Clerical - Knowledge of filing, typing, entering data, maintaining records, taking shorthand, and using and completing forms.

Office of the Secretary of the Interior

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), an organization within the Department of the Interior (DOI), responds to wildfires and promotes fire-resilient landscapes across more than 500 million acres of public and tribal lands nationwide. The USWFS has full program authority and coordinates the DOI wildland fire management program in its entirety. It ensures coordination within DOI, the Bureaus it serves, other federal agencies -- particularly the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service -- as well as non-federal agencies, state foresters, tribes, and a variety of stakeholder groups representing volunteer firefighters.

Agency contact information

DOI FIRES Program Office

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Office of the Secretary of the Interior, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.doi.gov/wildlandfireservice

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